Per Mertesacker has his say on the Mesut Ozil situation  | OneFootball

Per Mertesacker has suggested that Ozil’s personal life may have affected his footballing career.

Ozil has struggled for form since he signed his latest Arsenal contract in 2018.

The German was so bad that he was dropped from the team by Unai Emery and he has also fallen foul of Mikel Arteta, who has similarly dropped him from his plans.

His exclusion from the Arsenal Europa League squad is proof of how bad things have become for him and Mertesacker has had his say on the issue.

The German midfielder was teammates with Mertesacker at Arsenal, Werder Bremen and the German national team, so the defender knows how good he is as a player.

The Arsenal academy manager suggests that as Ozil got married and started a family, that his focus has probably changed.

But he insisted that the midfielder looks happy playing the game for the Gunners.

“A lot has changed away from the field,” Mertesacker said via Mirror Football.   “He got married, has a family. Perhaps his focus has changed. Nevertheless, he is still happy and happy to play football.

“He’s the only player I’ve played with for three teams – Bremen, Arsenal and also at the DFB. So I’m very sorry that he’s currently in a situation where he’s not really used.”